Solar oven

ABSTRACT

A portable solar oven which relies upon sunlight as a clean, readily-available and inexpensive source of fuel to generate the heat necessary to cook solid foods or boil liquids. The solar oven includes a cooking trough in which the food to be cooked or liquid to be boiled is placed. A hood is hingedly connected to the cooking trough and rotatable between a closed position seated upon the trough and an open position lifted upwardly and off the trough. A flared sunlight collector is connected atop the hood and rotatable therewith. The solar oven is removably received by and transported from place to place in a stand. The solar oven is rotatable relative to the stand in response to a pushing or pulling force that is applied to a position-control arm attached to the cooking trough whereby the sunlight collector can be correspondingly repositioned to remain in alignment with the sun as it moves across the sky.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a portable solar oven capable of beingtransported from place to place in a stand and used at most locationsaround the world by taking advantage of the sun as a clean,readily-available and inexpensive source of fuel for generating the heatnecessary to cook food. The solar oven is removable from or rotatablewithin the stand so that a sunlight collector can be repositioned toremain in alignment with the sun as it moves across the sky during theday.

2. Background Art

Conventional cooking ovens of the kind commonly found in a home areknown to consume natural gas or electricity. Some outdoor barbecues arepowered by electricity, while others use different sources ofcarbon-based fuel (e.g., charcoal) to generate the heat necessary tocook food. Such cooking ovens and barbecues may not be entirelycompatible with a philosophy that promotes protecting the environmentand conserving natural resources. That is to say, at a time when “goinggreen” is attracting attention, the desirability of anenvironmentally-friendly and economical means to cook food is becomingincreasingly important.

What is even more, electricity and natural gas are not available in someareas of the world. The inhabitants of these areas are typicallyrequired to use wood and wood byproducts as a source of fuel forcooking. In the case of a large population, trees have been cut down inorder to provide the wood by which to fuel a cooking fire. In somelocations, an abundance of trees is not available so as to supply thewood needed to maintain the cooking fires. Thus, an alternate means tocook food is desirable which does not necessitate the destruction orconsumption of natural resources and is powered by a clean,readily-available and inexpensive fuel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, a portable solar oven is disclosed which uses sunlightas a clean, readily-available and inexpensive fuel to generate the heatnecessary to cook solid foods or boil liquids. The solar oven is carriedby and transported in a stand that can be moved into areas flooded withsunlight. The solar oven includes a cooking trough in which the solidfood or liquid is placed. A hood is pivotally connected to the cookingtrough at a hinge lying therebetween, and a flared sunlight collectorand reflector is mounted atop the hood. The hood is rotatable at thehinge between an open position, lifted upwardly and off the cookingtrough at which to permit access to the interior of the trough, and aclosed position seated upon the cooking trough, at which access theretois prevented. At least one laterally-extending light-transparent panelis located between the hood and the flared sunlight collector so thatwith the hood in the closed position, rays of sunlight emitted by thesun can be reflected into the cooking trough via the light-transparentpanel.

A pair of hubs which are axially aligned with one another extendinwardly through opposite sides of the cooking trough. A grill hangsdownwardly from the pair of hubs by means of a pair of hooks whichsurround the hubs. A cooking vessel laid upon the grill will besuspended within the cooking trough so that the contents thereof can beheated within the solar oven by the rays of sunlight which are capturedby the sunlight collector and transmitted through the transparent panel.

The stand includes pairs of legs and a rectangular frame which extendsbetween the pairs of legs. A utility shelf projects outwardly from eachpair of legs at the top of the stand. The solar oven is removablyreceived by the stand by moving the cooking trough through an openwindow surrounded by the frame such that the pair of hubs which projectthrough the sides of the cooking trough are dropped into respectivecoupling notches formed in the utility shelves. A pushing or pullingforce applied to a position-control arm attached to the cooking troughcauses the solar oven to rotate relative to the stand. That is, the hubsprojecting from the cooking trough rotate within the coupling notches ofthe utility shelves, whereby the position of the trough can beselectively adjusted until the flared sunlight collector of the solaroven is correspondingly moved into alignment with the sun depending uponits particular location in the sky throughout the day.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of a solar oven according to a preferredembodiment of this invention carried by a stand and positioned so as toreceive light emitted by the sun for heating a cooking vessel that issuspended within a cooking trough of the oven;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the solar oven of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a hood of the solar oven rotated to an open position offthe cooking trough to permit access to the interior of the trough;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the solar oven having a plurality ofgrills extending across the cooking trough thereof;

FIG. 5 illustrates the solar oven moving into removable receipt by thestand;

FIG. 6 illustrates the solar oven after being received by the stand sothat the contents of the cooking vessel are heated by sunlight withinthe cooking trough of the oven; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the solar oven being rotated relative to thestand so that a sunlight collector of the oven is correspondingly movedinto alignment with the sun depending upon the position thereof in thesky.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A portable solar oven 1 according to a preferred embodiment of thisinvention is initially described while referring concurrently to FIGS.1-3 of the drawings. As will soon be described, the solar oven 1 reliesupon the sun as a clean, readily-available and inexpensive source offuel to generate the heat necessary to cook solid food or boil liquids.Thus, the solar oven 1 can be advantageously operated almost anywhere inthe world at any location where sunlight is present during the day. Inthis same regard, the solar oven 1 can be used without consuming scarcenatural resources and requires no additional fuel so as to avoidpolluting the environment. As will also be described, the solar oven 1is removably received by and carried in a stand 3 (best shown in FIGS. 5and 6) to facilitate a convenient transport of the oven 1 from one placeto another.

The solar oven 1 includes a hollow semi-cylindrical cooking trough 5that is preferably manufactured from a refractory material. Thedimensions of the cooking trough 5 may vary depending upon the food orliquid to be heated therewithin. A pair of cylindrical hubs 7 (bestshown in FIG. 2) project through opposite sides and inwardly of thecooking trough 5. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter,the cooking trough 5 is adapted to be removed from or rotated within thestand 3 in which it is carried. To this end, a position-control arm 9(also best shown in FIG. 2) is attached to and manually accessible at aside of the cooking trough 5. A pushing or pulling force applied to theposition-control arm 9 will impart a corresponding rotation to thecooking trough 5 for a purpose that will be described while referring toFIGS. 7 and 8. A hollow leg 10 projects downwardly from the bottom nearthe rear of the cooking trough 5. A set of bumps or stops 11 (best shownin FIG. 1) may be formed at the bottom near the front of the cookingtrough 5. In the case where the solar oven 1 is removed from and usedindependently of its stand 3, the leg 10 and stops 11 support thecooking trough 5 on the ground and prevent a displacement thereof shouldthe ground be sloped. To this same end, a leg extension 10-1 can beslidably received and locked within the hollow leg 10 in order toincrease the length of the leg 10 and adjust the alignment of thecooking trough 5 with respect to the position of the sun.

A cylindrical coupling barrel 12 runs longitudinally along the top ofone side wall of the cooking trough 5. A pivot pin 14 (of FIG. 2) runsalong the rear of a hood 16. With the pivot pin 14 moved inwardlythrough the coupling barrel 12 to create a hinge, the hood 16 isrotatable relative to the trough 5 between an open position, raisedupwardly and off the cooking trough 5 (best shown in FIG. 3) at which toallow a user to gain access to the interior thereof, to a closedposition, moved downwardly and seated upon the cooking trough 5 (bestshown in FIG. 1) at which to cover the trough and separate the interiorthereof from the user. The barrel 12 and the pivot pin 14 may also belocated on the opposite side of the oven 1. Like the cooking trough 5,the hood 16 of solar oven 1 is preferably manufactured from a refractorymaterial. Each of the cooking trough 5 and the hood 16 of the solar oven1 are preferably covered with a layer of light-absorbing (e.g., enamel)material to maximize the heat generated within the oven for cookingpurposes.

A handle 18 is manually accessible at the front of the hood 16. Alifting force applied by the user to the handle 18 will cause the hood16 to rotate from the closed position of FIG. 1 to the open position ofFIG. 3 so that solid food or liquid can be located in or removed fromthe cooking trough 5 of the solar oven 1.

Projecting upwardly from the top of the hood 16 is a metallic sunlightcollector and reflector 20 that ideally flares outwardly for alignmentwith the sun. A first light-transparent panel 22 extends laterallyacross the hood 16 so as to lie between the cooking trough 5 and thesunlight collector and reflector 20 when the hood is in the closedposition. A second light-transparent panel 24 also extends laterallyacross the hood 16 so as to lie above and in spaced parallel alignmentwith the first panel 22. By way of a preferred embodiment, the firsttransparent panel 22 is manufactured from an insulating (e.g., plastic)material that is adapted to withstand high temperatures, and the secondtransparent panel is manufactured from glass. As is best represented inFIG. 1, rays of sunlight emitted from the sun which are directed towardsthe sunlight collector 20 are reflected through the light-transparentpanels 22 and 24 for receipt by the cooking trough 5 of oven 1. With thehood 16 rotated to the closed position, the pair of light-transparentpanels 22 and 24 seal the cooking trough 5 and prevent the escape ofheat therefrom.

The earlier-described hubs 7 which project inwardly through the sides ofthe cooking trough 5 are axially aligned to establish a support fromwhich a grill 28 or the like can be suspended. A pair of upstandinghooks 30 are attached to respective opposite ends of the grill 28. Thehooks 30 are sized to freely surround and hang downwardly from the hubs7 such that the grill 28 will be positioned within the cooking trough 5of the solar oven 1 below the light-transparent panels 22 and 24. Byvirtue of the foregoing, a cooking vessel 32 containing a solid food ora liquid can be laid upon the grill 28 to be cooked or heated by meansof the sunlight captured by flared sunlight collector 20 located atopthe hood 16.

As is best shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, a set of (e.g., four) grillsupports seats 34 project inwardly from each side wall of the cookingtrough 5 of oven 1. The grill support seats 34 from each set thereof arespaced one above the other along the inside wall of the trough 5 so asto lie in opposing axial alignment. It may be that a relatively widegrill or a plurality of grills are desirable for use within the oven 1at the same time in place of the single relatively narrow grill 28 shownhanging from the rod 26 in FIGS. 1 and 3. In this case, one or moregrills (e.g., designated 36-1 and 36-2 in FIG. 4) are placed upon andextend between any pair of the grill support seats 34 which projectinwardly from opposite sides of the trough 5. Thus, the grills 36-1 and36-2 can support correspondingly larger cooking vessels compared withthe cooking vessel 28 that is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Moreover, a numberof different grills 36-1 and 36-2 can be used to support a correspondingnumber of cooking vessels.

As is also best shown in FIG. 4, an optional thermostat 17 communicateswith the interior of the solar oven 1 (e.g., through the hood 16) so asto provide the user with an indication of the cooking temperaturetherewithin.

Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, the solar oven 1 is shownbeing removably received by its stand 3. That is, the solar oven 1 canbe shipped, stored and used independently of the stand 3. The stand 3includes a set of vertical legs 40. At least some (e.g., two) of thelegs 40 are connected at first ends thereof to wheels 42 to enable thestand 3 of the solar oven 1 to be rolled to a location at which sunlightis plentiful. The opposite ends of the legs 40 terminate at a pair ofutility shelves 44 located at opposite sides of the stand 3. The utilityshelves 44 may be used for a variety of purposes such as, for example,to provide a surface on which to place food to be cooked, cookingvessels, cooking utensils, plates, etc. The stand 3 may also include astorage shelf 46 connected to each of the legs 40 below the utilityshelves 44.

Located between and below the utility shelves 44 of the stand 3 is a(e.g., rectangular) frame 48. The frame 48 surrounds an open window 50near the top of the stand 3. The window 50 is sized to receivetherethrough the cooking trough 5 of the solar oven 1. An arcuatecoupling notch 52 is formed in each of the utility shelves 44 aboveopposite sides of the frame 48. The coupling notches 52 are axiallyaligned and sized to removably receive respective ones of thecylindrical hubs 7 which project through the opposite sides of thecooking trough 5 of oven 1. When the cooking trough 5 is moved throughwindow 50 inside the frame 48 of stand 3, the hubs 7 of the trough 5will automatically drop into the coupling notches 52 formed in theutility shelves 44 of the stand, by which to permit the position of thesolar oven 1 to be selectively adjusted with respect to the position ofthe sun in the sky.

Referring in this regard to FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, the solaroven 1 is shown rotated within the stand 3 so that the flared sunlightcollector 20 atop the hood 16 of oven 1 is aimed towards the sun toreceive rays of light through the light-transparent panels 22 and 24 inorder to supply the heat necessary for cooking the solid food or liquidwithin the cooking vessel 32 that is laid upon the grill 28 which issuspended from the hubs 7. More particularly, a pulling or pushing forceis applied by the user to the position-control arm 9 (of FIG. 6) at oneside of the cooking trough 5 of oven 1. The pulling or pushing force istransferred from arm 9 to the trough 5, whereby to cause the trough torotate within the window 50 (of FIG. 5) of the stand 3. That is, thepushing or pulling force applied to the position-control arm 9 causesthe cylindrical hubs 7 at opposite sides of trough 5 to rotate withinthe coupling notches 52 (of FIG. 6) formed in the utility shelves 44 ofthe stand 3 in which the hubs 7 are removably received. Accordingly, thecooking trough 5, the hood 16 and the sunlight collector 20 will allrotate together relative to stand 3 without having to move the stand asthe position of the sun changes.

Once the sunlight collector and reflector 20 has been rotated into axialalignment with the sun, the force applied to the position-control arm 9is terminated. It may, however, be necessary to reposition the sunlightcollector 20 from time to time as the sun moves across the sky duringthe day. Because the grill 28 hangs downwardly within the trough 5 byway of the hooks 30 which surround the hubs 7, the grill 28 will notrotate with the trough, but will remain suspended under the influence ofgravity in parallel alignment with the ground. Thus, the position of thecooking vessel 32 seated upon the grill 28 will not tip, slide or spillits contents during the heating/cooking process.

1. A solar oven in which to cook food or boil a liquid by means ofsunlight, said solar oven comprising: a cooking trough having aninterior at which the food or liquid is placed; a hood connected to saidcooking trough and movable between a closed position seated upon saidtrough and an open position lifted upwardly and off said trough so as topermit access to the interior thereof; and a first light-transparentpanel located above said cooking trough and extending across said hoodso that rays of light emitted from the sun are supplied to the interiorof the cooking trough by way of said first light-transparent panel forproviding heat to cook the food or boil the liquid when said hood is inthe closed position.
 2. The solar oven recited in claim 1, wherein saidhood is pivotally connected to said cooking trough so that said hood isrotatable relative to said trough between said closed and openpositions.
 3. The solar oven recited in claim 1, wherein said hood ispivotally connected to said coupling trough at a hinge extendingtherebetween.
 4. The solar oven recited in claim 1, further comprising aflared light-reflective sunlight collector rhounted atop and movablewith said hood between said closed and open positions, said sunlightcollector extending above said light-transparent panel to reflect lightrays from the sun to the interior of the cooking trough by way of saidfirst light-transmitting panel when said hood is in said closedposition.
 5. The solar oven recited in claim 1, further comprising asecond light-transparent panel extending across said hood in spacedparallel alignment with said first light-transparent panel so as tocompletely cover said cooking trough, at least one of said first andsecond light-transparent panels being manufactured from an insulatingmaterial to prevent heat generated by the rays of sunlight from escapingfrom said cooking trough.
 6. The solar oven recited in claim 1, furthercomprising a pair of hubs projecting inwardly from opposite sides ofsaid cooking trough and a grill hanging from said pair of hubs, saidgrill adapted to receive the food to be cooked or the liquid to beboiled.
 7. The solar oven recited in claim 1, further comprising aposition-control arm connected to said cooking trough, a pushing orpulling force applied to said position-control arm causing acorresponding displacement of said cooking trough and said hoodconnected thereto.
 8. A combination comprising: a stand; and a solaroven in which to cook food or boil a liquid by means of sunlight, saidsolar oven mounted on said stand and including: a cooking trough havingan interior at which the food or liquid is placed, said cooking troughbeing rotatable relative to said stand; a hood connected to said cookingtrough and movable between a closed position seated upon said trough andan open position lifted upwardly and off said trough so as to permitaccess to the interior thereof; and a light-transparent panel locatedabove said cooking trough and extending completely across said hood sothat rays of light emitted from the sun are supplied to the interior ofsaid cooking trough by way of said light-transparent panel for providingheat to cook the food or boil the liquid when said hood is in the closedposition.
 9. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein said standincludes a frame surrounding an open window at the top of said stand,the cooking trough of said solar oven being removably received throughsaid open window and supported by said frame for rotation relative tosaid stand.
 10. The combination recited in claim 9, wherein said solaroven also includes a pair of hubs extending inwardly and lying in spacedaxial alignment with one another through opposite sides of the cookingtrough, and said stand includes a coupling notch formed in each of theopposite ends of said frame, said pair of hubs being received byrespective ones of said coupling notches so that said hubs are rotatablewithin said notches.
 11. The combination recited in claim 10, whereinsaid solar oven also includes a grill hanging downwardly from said pairof hubs, said grill positioned to receive the food to be cooked or theliquid to be boiled within said cooking trough.
 12. The combinationrecited in claim 9, wherein said solar oven also includes aposition-control arm connected to said cooking trough, a pushing orpulling force applied to said position-control arm causing the cookingtrough of said solar oven to rotate within the open window of the frameof said stand.
 13. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein the hoodof said solar oven is pivotally connected to the cooking trough of saidoven by means of a hinge extending therebetween so that said hood isrotatable relative to said trough between said open and closedpositions.
 14. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein said solaroven also includes a flared light-reflective sunlight collector mountedatop and movable with the hood of said solar oven between said closedand open positions, said sunlight collector extending above saidlight-transparent panel to be moved into alignment with the sun inresponse to a rotation of the cooking trough relative to the standdepending upon the position of the sun in the sky.
 15. The combinationrecited in claim 8, wherein the cooking trough of said solar ovenincludes at least one leg projecting downwardly thereform so as tocontact the ground and thereby hold said cooking trough in alignmentwith the sun when said solar oven is removed from and used independentlyof said frame.
 16. The combination recited in claim 15, wherein thelength of said one leg is adjustable.